Charlotte Rampling does an award-winning acting job depicting a woman's reaction to her husband of 25 years disappearing into the ocean in the south of France. They seemed to be a serenely and smoothly functioning couple taking their annual vacation together. They had a lovely seaside villa and seemed to know the routine of travelling, opening the house and preparing to relax. They seem like a loving couple, but she is in her 40's, fit and trim while he was aging and overweight. He got wood for a fire and she made pasta and they went to bed together with affection, but no passion.
The next day was lovely and he lovingly applied sunblock to her back. He went swimming by himself as she preferred to relax for awhile and read a book. She never saw him again as he never returned. She was frantic and initiated a search, but no body was found. The following year she was trying to get on with her life, still denying her husband's death. Her friends grew increasingly concerned and tried to fix her up with a pleasant single man, and eventually she agreed to have a date with him and make love. The image of her husband remained with her in a soft, friendly way.
Events accelerate, the finding of the body, a shocking talk with her aged mother-in-law. Ultimately she seems to come to grips with reality as she breaks down and cries on the beach, but the sudden ending must be watched closely for a clue to how she eventually copes.
After the love-making scene, there is a shocking realization by the new boyfriend, that their physical intimacy meant nothing to her after the fact. This is what many lovers feel when they realize the physical intimacy was only skin deep and temporal. One wonders by what magic enduring love and commitment happens.